Half an hour later, after Tear Stain and a million troops had entered Sunset City, she decided to send everyone else back to Burning City just in case Cyan Earth City’s Breeze and Rain and God of War decided to raid it. Worst-case scenario, they would need every man and woman to hold the city.

As for us, we surrounded Sunset City with 2 million players and set up many White Marsh Catapults and Bloodfiend War Drums. This gave us the choice to attack the city or defend ourselves from an outside attack.

……

While my Ancient Divine Dragon was resting atop a gigantic, sky-reaching tree, I sat on its tail, hugged the Chill of the Nine Provinces and gazed toward the direction of Chariot City and Hero City. The Americans were busy retaking Seven Star City right now, so there was a small chance they would come to help Sunset City. However, the same couldn’t be said for Chariot City. The players we sent to feint an attack were weak, so their main force could certainly break out of the encirclement if they so wished.

He Yi checked the time before saying, "There’s 27 hours left before the Nation War is over. It doesn’t look like there is much fighting left though. The dust has settled with Hot Sand City going to the China server and Sunset City going to the Korea server."

Gui Guzi licked his lips before saying regretfully, "It’s a shame that we have to surrender a tier 1 main city like Sunset City to the Koreans though."

Lin Yixin giggled. "Relax. There are only so many Koreans, and Sunset City is a huge city. Trust me when I say that they’re going to have a hard time trying to hold it, especially since the English will be eager to take revenge against them. That’s why Lu Chen had surrendered the city to Korea in the first place."

Gui Guzi nodded. "Yeah. I have almost no sense of the big picture at all, so this kind of stuff is best left to Boss Broken Halberd to deal with."

……

Suddenly, a troop of around a thousand riders led by a middle-aged man rode up to us. He was none other than the supreme commander of the China battle line, the last CGL Hall of Famer and a committee member of the CGL committee, Hot and Sour Noodles.

After Zhang Chun dismounted from his horse and looked at me, He Yi, Stranger of Three Lifetimes, Lin Yixin and the rest of the guild leaders one by one, he suddenly clasped his fist in a salute and said, "First, on behalf of the China server, I would like to thank everyone here for pulling off such an impressive feat. Never have we taken two main cities in a row in the history of the China VR gaming until now."

He Yi responded with a chuckle, "You’re welcome, Chairman Zhang…"

Zhang Chun laughed. "Just call me uncle. Seriously, that almost sounds like an insult…"

Stranger of Three Lifetimes tilted her head. "You’re a weird one, uncle. Here in China, practically everyone who’s in politics enjoys being addressed by their title, isn’t it?"

Zhang Chun sucked in a deep breath before replying, "You know I was a CGL member from the beginning, right? The reason I quit and founded Righteousness later on was precisely because I couldn’t stand all the political bullshit. As you can see though, I wasn’t able to abscond my responsibility in the end. I had to go back, or there would be little to no one clean in the entire China VR department."

I said from the tree, "So, we managed to retake Wind City, defeat both Hot Sand City and Sunset City, and even widen the fracture between the members of the Northern Alliance. This is a great achievement, right? We deserve some benefits for everything that we’ve done, right?"

Zhang Chun nodded heavily. "Don’t worry. I promise you that the Top 1000 players on the Nation War contribution point leaderboard will receive some additional reward. Chief Tang Feng had also created a proposal to make the CGL an official unit in the VR department. Long story short, the two organizations will be merging, and I was given the responsibility to manage them both. I promise you that I will do everything in my power to get you the reward you all deserve."

I smiled gladly. "Thanks, uncle."

……

It was at this moment Beiming Xue appeared from the distant plains. She galloped at full speed to reach us before reporting while panting, "A huge amount of troops had appeared from the north, big brother! They’re definitely coming for Sunset City! What do we do now?"

"Do you know who they are?"

"Over 95% of them are Chariot City cavalrymen. I think I also spotted some English among them. They’re most likely Sunset City players."

"Hehe, I knew that the English would seek out the Germans to retake their main city. Looks like their defense pact isn’t completely useless after all. Interesting…"

Zhang Chun’s eyes lit up. "So… should we help the Koreans defend the city, or?"

I leaped down from the tree and landed as nimbly as a bird. Then, I replied with a smile, "Of course we’re helping Tear Stain to defend the city! She’s Candlelight Shadow’s cute little junior, and Candlelight Shadow’s our Martial God. Even if we don’t really care for the former, we must consider the latter’s feelings, right? Yes, we must assist the Koreans to defend Sunset City. All main forces, withdraw to the northside and prepare to welcome our friends from Chariot City!"

……

Soon, the Dragonlight Cavalry, Zephyr Cavalry, Kui Dragon Cavalry and other metal-armor cavalrymen had formed up and unsheathed their weapons in anticipation of a warm "greeting" from the visitors.

When the black tide that was Chariot City’s forces finally appeared from the horizon, a ring of white peeked out of the eastern mountains, and the first ray of dawn shone down on the enemy’s armor and gave them an intimidating outlook. Chariot City hadn’t made a single move since the beginning of this great Nation War, and when they did they surprised everyone by going all out. I counted at least a million riders spread across the plains, and I had no idea how big the ranged parties following behind them would be. Leading in front of the group was a Level 215 elite warrior wielding a fiery red spear. He galloped toward us until he was within hearing distance before saying, "Please move out of the way, Chinese friends! This is a matter of the Northern Alliance!"

I unsheathed the Chill of the Nine Provinces and activated Fusion Armor at the same time, arming myself to the teeth. Then, I stepped forward and said smilingly, "Sorry, but we won’t be able to comply with that request. We have just come to an agreement with Tear Stain of Burning City, so trust me when I say that we will fight to the last man and woman to make sure that Sunset City stays in her hands. Friend from Chariot City, I’m sure you’re aware that this really has nothing to do with your server. You don’t have to interfere, am I right?"

The warrior clenched his teeth but didn’t respond.

It was at this moment a couple of English players left the main army and galloped toward us. A Level 212 magic knight in red metal armor pointed a finger to the walls. "Get down from there and speak face-to-face with us, Tear Stain! You know that Sunset City and Burning City strongly rely on one another to survive, so why did you work together with the Chinese to steal our only main city? What the hell do you think you’re doing?"

Tear Stain was standing on the wall with her sword held beside her. Her long hair looked a bit disheveled due to the wind, and her cloak was flapping loudly behind her. She bit her lips for a moment before responding loudly, "Ally? A true ally wouldn’t have gone so far as to wipe out our party when we were just trying to gather some Hongming Wood! Hmph! If you won’t give us Hongming Wood, then we’ll just have to take it ourselves!"

Absolutely pissed, the English player shouted, "Take it yourself? The Korea server truly is made up of a bunch of shameless scum!"

Tear Stain pointed her sword straight at the Englishman and shouted back, "What did you say? I dare you to say that again!"

"I said the Korean server is made up of a bunch of scum! What are you going to do about it?" The guy was completely out of control.

"Hey!"

The Chariot City guild leader next to him was calm, however. He looked at the Englishman and said, "As you can see, Charlie, this is an unwinnable war. Not only are the Chinese helping the Koreans, I see a lot of Ancient Divine Skill owners among their ranks. The only outcome I can foresee from this battle is us losing both levels and equipment for nothing. I’m sorry, but I cannot in good conscience make my players fight a war they cannot win."

The Englishman shuddered visibly. "What did you say? We’re allies! If Sunset City is lost, you are the next on the chopping block! Do you really think your server can survive on your own?"

The German replied with a calming smile, "Don’t be depressed, my friend. In the larger scheme of things, one loss means nothing at all. For starters, we can retake the main city as soon as next week. Two, we were completely caught off-guard by the Chinese. Not only did their counterattack come way ahead of Vienna and my prediction, they somehow managed to convince Earth Tiger City, Greedy Wolf City and Proud Dragon City to join in on their assault. Think. Can we really win this war from our current position? We cannot, can we? So I beg you to remain calm and wait for a better opportunity. Once Hero City and Cyan Earth City have caught their breath, retaking Sunset City will be as easy as snapping a finger."

The Englishman still looked displeased, but the German raised his spear decisively and ordered, "All units, withdraw to Chariot City now! The northern barbarians mustn’t be allowed to capitalize on our absence!"

Just like that, the army of Chariot City receded like tidewater. The outcome of the battle defied everyone’s expectation, it was as if it hadn’t happened in the first place.

……

On the walls, Tear Stain let out a huge sigh of relief before whispering to herself, "Thank god they left…"

Tear Stain was feeling like she just rode a roller coaster because she didn’t believe that the China server would go to war against the German server for her at all. That was just her being short-sighted, however. The China server had just retaken Wind City and conquered Hot Sand City, so we needed allies more than enemies right now. That was why I had engineered things so that Burning City would become our ally whether they liked it or not.

A while later, a single rider appeared from the horizon, and he was none other than the SSS Rank Ancient Divine Skill owner, Candlelight Shadow. He was carrying a huge sword and leading several thousand Candle Dragon riders. When he arrived at Sunset City and saw Tear Stain on the wall, he shivered a bit before murmuring, "Lu Chen really did give you the royal scepter…"

Tear Stain nodded. "I guess we’re friends from here on out, Shadow. There’s no turning back after what I did, and it’s all thanks to your Little Heavenly King…"

Candlelight Shadow clenched his fists before sighing. "Ai, that bastard Lu Chen!"

……

I had returned to my tree to take a nap, and I chose this moment to open my eyes, sit up and say to Candlelight Shadow, "You should be thanking me instead of cursing me, Candlelight Shadow. I made sure that you would never be torn between love and duty, putting our entire server in grave danger."

Candlelight Shadow clenched his teeth. "Hmph!"

……

This was hands down the smoothest Nation War we had fought since the start of Heavenblessed. There weren’t even many moments where we were pressured at all.

I logged out twice during the 27-hour wait to take care of my basic needs. When I logged back into the game for the last time, it was past 8 am on the third day of the Nation War; 1+ hour from the end of the Nation War. Hot Sand City was firmly in our grasp, and Sunset City in Tear Stain’s. In fact, Tear Stain didn’t log out for the entire 27 hours because she wanted to make 100% sure that the city would be hers. She was as ruthless to herself as she was to other people.

……

Pa!

Finally, Gui Guzi planted his spear on the ground and said, "Guess waiting for the reward announcement is the only thing we have left to do!"